Too Young
by Assemble-the-Avengers
Summary: "What's really wrong Aleksandra?" he asked knowingly. His left arm fell away as he got to his feet, pulling her with him. "Fury…" her eyes glazed over and she stared past her best friend. "Fury recruited us." ALEKS/TJ
1. Chapter 1

Sixteen year old Aleks Barton leaned against the punching bag, panting slightly as she brushed her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes.

"Aleks, give it a rest. Come upstairs." T.J. suggested from the doorway. Aleks shook her head and turned back to the punching bag. "Aleks…" he chided, catching her fist. "I know you're mad Leksi…" he started, turning her to face him.

"Mad?" she scoffed. "No. I was mad when Phil and Mja destroyed my gun. I was mad when your dad took you to Miami on my birthday. I'm not just _mad _that Fury shipped my parents to Abu Dhabi the day before Christmas Eve!" she shouted, wrenching her arm out of his grip. He exhaled impatiently; he could tell by watching the way her right fist started hitting harder to compensate for the left's slack punches, she'd done some form of damage to her left hand.

He gently kicked the back of her knees, sending her tired and unaware body falling backwards, he caught her as she fell, twining his hands around her wrists to keep her from hitting him.

"Let me go, T.J." Aleks ordered, struggling against him. He held tight, forcing her head down against his shoulder until he felt her relax. He swung her up into his arms, carrying her over to the uncomfortable metal bench and sitting her down in his lap.

**NOT REALLY SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS THE FIRST TIME.**

He punched his access code into the box on the wall behind him, pulling out the first aid kit. Keeping one arm around his girlfriend, he sifted through the small box until he found the gauze wrap and began winding it around her bloodied knuckles.

Aleks slid off T.J.'s lap once he'd finished, holding her right hand out to him. He took it gently, standing up and watching her curiously. Silver eyes flitted towards the sparring ring, brown eyes darkening in response.

"No, Leks." T.J. denied firmly glancing pointedly at her wrapped hands.

"Please." She breathed in his ear. He swallowed thickly and gently pushed her away. He cupped his hands around her face, searching her eyes.

"Ok." He agreed reluctantly. Aleks walked ahead of her boyfriend, flipping backwards over the ropes and landing easily on the mat, waving him forward. Sighing, the seventeen year old ducked into the ring, taking a defensive stance.

Aleks danced forward, throwing her fist into Stark's sternum. The boy stumbled back, rubbing his now sore chest, ducking just in time to avoid Aleks' elbow. She spun around so she was behind him, dropping into a crouch and sweeping his legs out from under him. T.J. flipped over just before he hit the ground, wincing as he palms hit the mat with a loud slap. Suddenly his arm shot out, grabbing hold of Aleks' ankle and pulling her to the ground. Before she could react, T.J. was straddling her stomach, left forearm pressing down lightly on her neck and right hand trailing over her sweaty face.

"What's really wrong Aleksandra?" he asked knowingly. His left arm fell away as he got to his feet, pulling her with him.

"Fury…" her eyes glazed over and she stared past her best friend. "Fury recruited us."

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	2. Chapter 2

**SORRY IT IS TAKING SO LONG AND TOO MAKE MATTERS WORSE THIS IS ONE OF THE SHORTEST CHAPTERS EVER. **

"Fury…" her eyes glazed over and she stared past her best friend. "Fury recruited us."

"Fury did _what?" _Natasha screeched into her cell phone.

"They start training on the 27th." Clint continued, eyes pinned on the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table. 11:55 pm.

"Leave it to Fury to recruit the kids when I'm gone." She seethed furiously.

"Calm down, Tasha." He sighed. "They're hardly kids anymore Nat. They never really were." He said sadly.

"I know." She murmured. Twelve o'clock.

"Merry Christmas, Tasha." He whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Clint." She replied quietly.

"I'm going to go make sure the kids are asleep."

"I'll be home soon." She murmured into the receiver. He sighed as the dial tone rang in his ear. He pushed off of his bed, sulking down the hall towards the hall that contained all of the kids' bedrooms. He peeked in Mja and Erik's room to see Thor passed out on the floor, sandwiched between his twins with _The Night Before Christmas _on his chest and Jane sleeping soundly in the rocking chair. The assassin eased the door shut, looking into Phil's room. Avery was curled up in her cousins arms, still shaking slightly from a nightmare. Phil's green eyes flitted towards his dad, smiling sadly as his dad nodded understandingly, closing the door behind him as he left. Lastly he looked into his daughter's room, assuming TJ would either be with her, or she would be with TJ. He didn't expect to see Aleks on the floor, her knees tucked up to her chest with dried tears staining her cheeks.

"Leksi? You ok baby girl?" he asked, venturing further into the teenager's room. She shrugged against her legs. "Where's…?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"In the shower." She murmured, voice muffled by her knees.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" he sighed, pulling her into his side.

"I miss мама." She admitted.

"Leks, she's been gone longer before. What's up?" he prodded.

"It's Christmas. And I know our life is _far _from normal, but…. This holiday is the only time we come close. We spend it together, like a normal family. But now…" she rambled.

"Mom's not going to be here." He finished.

"I know it's childish but…" she shrugged again.

"You sound like your mother." He growled. "It isn't childish, девочка." He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her citrus shampoo. "I love you, Leks and so does mom. And I _know _she wishes she could be here." He promised, standing as his shirtless nephew emerged from the bathroom. TJ hardly spared his uncle a glance when he caught sight of the tears trailing down his girlfriend's face.

Clint left with one last glance at the oldest children in the family.

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	3. Chapter 3

**SORRY THE UPDATES WITH THIS STORY ARE SO SLOW, I'M TRYING TO GET MY 'HELP YOU' STORIES OUT OF THE WAY. ((READ THEM IF YOU HAVENT)) **

**OH, AND FOLLOW ALEKS, TJ, PHIL, MJA, AVERY AND ERIK ON INSTAGRAM: ****__AVENGERS_KIDS__**

"Aleks! Get up, get up, get up!" a chorus of children's voices screamed through the Tower. Aleks rolled over, hiding her irritated face in TJ's chest. "Aleks!" the kids whined, shaking the bed as they bounced on their knees. Aleks ignored them for a moment longer before Avery, Mja and Erik resorted to hitting the newly recruited SHIELD agent.

"Mja, Avery, Erik, go wake up Phil. And your aunts and uncles. Then come back." She grumbled hopefully. The collective impatient groan tossed all her hopes of any more sleep out the window.

"They're already up! Get up!" the girls repeated while Erik shook the older cousins. Aleks sighed, rolled over on her back and pushed the children backwards on top of TJ. He groaned, burying his face in her girlfriend's hair to block out the noise and light that had been let in from the hallway.

"Alright, alright. Out. You too, Mi, Ave." she sighed, pointing out the door through which Erik had obediently disappeared. The girls muttered incoherently as they followed the youngest boy into the hallway. "J?" Aleks muttered to the ceiling, grunting in thanks to the robotic AI when the door shut behind the kids.

Aleks splayed her palm out over TJ's cheek, kissing his lips over and over until he stopped mumbling in protest and actually kissed her back. Aleks let her hand slide down TJ's bare chest, eliciting a shiver from the boy. His eyes blinked open reluctantly, green shimmering with implied question. Aleks fumbled with his hand until she could see the blinking face of his watch. '_5:30…' _pulsed in bright red numbers as she turned it to face her boyfriend. He growled Russian words he'd picked up from his aunt as Aleks flipped lithely out of the bed stumbling over to TJ's side of the king sized bed. She wrapped her hand around his wrist, pulling him upright. He hummed in protest, jerking her arm towards him, effectively pulling her body down on his lap.

"TJ…" she sighed as he rested his forehead against her shoulder. She froze, eyebrows pulling together in concern. She leaned away from him, touching the back of her hand to his cheek. "Aw, Stark." She scolded, leaning her forehead against his.

"Fever?" he surmised, eyes closed.

"Might've been good to share with the class." She grumbled.

"Explains why I feel like crap." He moaned.

"Want me to…" to started to offer. He shook his head, lifting her off his lap and rising to his feet. She sighed, moving to his side while his hand automatically wrapped around her shoulders.

Clint Barton raised his eyebrows when his baby girl walked into the living room, wrapped around her shirtless, miserable looking boyfriend. '_Fever…' _she signed discreetly while Phil, Mja, Avery and Erik crowded them, dragging them towards the oversized, gaudy, super hero themed Christmas tree surrounded by mountains of gifts – most, probably, from Tony.

Pepper sat on the couch, curled into Tony's side with her feet tucked under her and pajamas almost swallowing her small frame. Tony dozed in and out of consciousness, cheek squished against the top of his wife's head.

Thor snored loudly from the other couch, constantly earning an elbow in his ribcage from his scientist of a wife. Jane yawned in tune with her husband's heavy breathing. Erik clambered into his mom's lap, snuggling his head into her chest as he stifled a huge yawn.

Clint stood next to the tree, organizing the presents into piles while the kids raced around the tree. The team members were all too aware of the forced aspect of his smile. His partner wasn't here on the one day they could even come close to resembling a normal family.

Phil dropped down, cross legged, pulling Avery down on top of him as she yawned into her hand. He took Mja's hand dragging her down beside him and Erik on his other side. Aleks and TJ sat a few feet away from them, watching as Hawkeye shuffled around quietly.

Steve and Bruce watched their nieces and nephews with contented silence before moving forward to help Clint distribute the presents. Pepper had insisted they color code them, depending on who they were for. Aleks' were blue, TJ's red, Phil's orange, Avery's pink, Erik's gold, and Mja's purple. Each kid was surrounded by mountains of their respective color, the little kids tearing through the paper faster than Tony could fly. The younger kids had ripped through their presents by the time Aleks and TJ had opened five and thanked the adults and moved on to the next set.

Christmas morning was cut short when TJ pushed Aleks off his lap and ran to the bathroom. Aleks chased after him rubbing her hand up and down his back while he threw up the contents of the dinner they'd eaten the night before. Aleks looked at everyone apologetically, waving off Pepper who tried to follow them as she helped him back to their room.

Aleks helped him into the bed as he shivered uncontrollably. She pulled out of his grip, tugging the sheets up around him in a vain attempt to keep him warm. His tan cheeks flushed drastically as he groaned, curling around the pillow and reaching blindly for his girlfriend. Sweat soaked through the dark strands of his bangs that stuck to his forehead. His brown eyes opened reluctantly when he didn't feel Aleks' familiar body settle down beside him.

"Hey, hey, right here, lover boy." She murmured soothingly, taking his hand before he could get out of the bed completely. Aleks crawled up beside him, tracking her hands through his hair to calm him back down. He threw his arm haphazardly over her waist, pulling her body closer, burying his face into the curve of her neck, and tangling his legs around hers, until he was almost completely wrapped around her.

"Cold." He explained vaguely. Aleks sighed, tilting her cheek onto the top of his head.

"Sleep, благообразный. I'll be here." She promised, whispering into his hair. His grip on her slackened considerably, letting her know he'd finally passed out.

**TJ CUTENESS:) **

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	4. Chapter 4

**SO SORRY IT TOOK ****_FOREVER, _****BUT HERE YOU GO. **

Pepper eased her niece's bedroom door open, slipping through and closing it before the screeches of the little kids could wake her sleeping son. Aleks sat on top of the sheets, TJ curled around her with the sheets wrapped around his limbs. Sweat coated every inch of his skin, pasting his outgrown dark hair to his forehead, and he shivered occasionally. Aleks' loose brunette curls were pulled over her shoulder and her head was nodded to the side, hanging above TJ's. The lock clicked shut behind the worried mom and Aleks' head jerked up.

"Sorry." Pepper grimaced. The younger girl's head twitched dismissively.

"I think his fever's breaking." She replied softly. Pepper nodded, walking closer until she could lower herself onto the bed. It creaked quietly under the added weight and both girls froze when TJ shifted. The way Aleks looked down at her son, was something Pepper had only ever seen from Natasha and Clint. The look of total adoration, complete concern. The look that confessed everything they couldn't seem to say aloud. The look that clearly indicated that they'd do anything for each other. As a mother, she couldn't decide whether or not it was terrifying or reassuring that her son had someone like that for him. She watched Aleks' hand move forward to smooth his hair back, lingering on his forehead to test his temperature. "Definitely cooling off." She confirmed.

"Good." The redhead smiled, staring down at her son for a minute longer before shifting her gaze to her sleepy looking niece.

"We'll meet you at the party if he's feeling better." Aleks murmured.

"Ok." Pepper sighed. Every year, before the kids, even before the Avengers, she and Tony hosted a Christmas Party that every important person in the world had a tendency to attend. "Want to help get the girls ready?" she offered when Aleks shifted stiffly in TJ's hold. The smaller brunette nodded hesitantly. Once she had maneuvered her way out of the strong teenage boy's grasp, rubbing his back gently when he jerked in his sleep. She slipped away and waved Pepper out of the room.

"Shh!" Pepper and Aleks hissed in unison as Mja ran by, squealing at the top of her lungs. Pepper's eyes darkened when Phil clonked past in a smaller model of the Iron Man suit. Aleks giggled into her hand and winked at Phil when he skidded to a stop, looking like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Pep, its fine. Dad would've stopped it if he was worried." Aleks interrupted. Pepper narrowed her eyes skeptically.

"Do not chase her Phillip." She warned.

"Yes Aunt Pepper." His voice rattled through the Iron Man mask.

"Its time to get ready, in any case. Have Uncle Tony take that off of you, then get the girls and meet back in the living room." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." He nodded. "Mja!" he shouted after the younger girl, stomping after her. Aleks laughed and turned into the living room.

"Hi Daddy." Aleks hummed as she and Pepper joined Jane and the other men.

"_You gave Phil a suit?" _Pepper hissed. Aleks sat down on her dad's knee, giggling at her aunt and uncle. Tony fidgeted under her glare. "You didn't." she growled. "_Anthony Stark, if you tell me that you not only got one for your eleven year old nephew, but your teenage son as well…_" she warned menacingly.

"Pep, TJ was going to need one sooner or later." Clint cut in as Tony sank into the cushions of the couch.

"Don't tell me how to raise my son." She snapped.

"He's not a little boy anymore, honey. He's an agent now." Tony chided, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her down on top of him. "He's safer in the suit." He added.

"I know." She sniffed. "I'm sorry Tony." She murmured, tucking her head under his chin. Aleks rolled her eyes and leaned back against her dad's chest.

"Do we _have _to go, mommy?" Avery pouted as she ran into the living room, jumping on her mom and dad.

"Yes, Ave. We do. Maybe Auntie Jane will do your hair if you ask nicely." Avery's eyes lit up and her head swiveled around to stare pleadingly at her aunt.

"Will you Aunt Jane?" she bounced on her toes.

"Of course, Avery." Jane smiled, patting Thor's arm as she pushed off of the couch, following her niece

"Don't let her talk you out of her Christmas dress!" Pepper called after her. Jane waved her hand over her head in acknowledgment. "You want to take Mja?" she asked, turning back to Aleks.

"Come on, Mi." she held her arms out to the youngest girl in the family in answer. Mja jumped into her cousin's arms, resting her head on her shoulder.

"I take Erik and Phil…" she continued.

"I can dress myself Aunt Pepper." Phil pouted while Erik just tucked himself into Pepper's side.

"Of course Phil." She nodded, pressing her lips together to hide her smile as the little boy stalked away. "And you boys," she warned lowly, turning to Thor, Tony, Clint and Bruce who had remained purposely silent throughout the day, watching his amusing family. "Where's Steve?" she asked, cutting off her order. "You, you, you, and you," she pointed at each of the older men. "Get dressed. Nicely. Meaning suits. All of you. Go." The four Avengers sulked out of the living room to change. "J, you there?" she called to the ceiling.

"Always, Mrs. Stark." The British voice replied.

"Where is Captain Rogers?" she asked, taking Erik's hand that was unoccupied by the miniature replica of Steve's shield.

"He's in his quarters, Mrs. Stark."

"Thanks J." she frowned. "Aleks, do you want to…"

"Yeah." She nodded, glancing at the dozing blonde in her arms before walking off in the direction of her godfather's bedroom. "Uncle Steve…" she called through the door.

"Aleks…" he gasped in surprise, squeezing out the door and shutting it behind him.

"You ok?" she asked suspiciously, shifting Mja in her arms.

"Yeah, I'm great." Her blue grey eyes narrowed and he blushed. "I'm perfect, never been better, swell." He squeaked.

"You're a crappy liar, Steve." She deadpanned. He sighed, glancing away for half a second.

"Ali." He whined, using the nickname that only he ever called her. But by the time he looked back she was gone. He groaned, sulking as he turned back into his bedroom to find his niece already shuffling through his stuff. "You're worse than your mom." He huffed, folding his toned arms. "Ali, I…" he started.

"Steve…" she stuttered. "You met someone?" she asked suspiciously when she saw the dismembered diamond ring on his desk.

"Not exactly." He blushed. "It's… for you." He blurted.

"What?" she cocked her head to the side.

"It…my mother died when I was little, you know that." He started, sitting down on the edge of his neatly made bed, and motioning for Aleks to sit beside him. She gently dropped down beside him, nodding as she resituated the smaller girl in her lap. "She never got a chance to have a daughter to give her engagement ring to." He took a deep breath. "So she gave it to me, in hopes that I'd give it to my dame." He didn't correct himself, and Aleks didn't do it for him. "But when I realized that I'd…never get that chance, I decided I needed to pick another special girl to give it to. I thought about it, and I realized there's only one girl I'd want to give my mother's ring to, Ali." Tears that had welled in her eyes spilled over and she sputtered. "_But," _he continued. "I can't exactly give my goddaughter my mother's wedding ring." He laughed nervously, running his hand through his hair. "That's what I've been doing. I melted it down, and I…well, here." He reached over to his desk and held it out to Aleks. She stared at the small charm in his oversized palm; a small gold disk with engraved patterns branching out from a shimmering diamond. Her hand drifted to the necklace TJ had given her, and unclipped it, letting it fall into Steve's hand. He slipped his charm onto it and fastened around her neck again.

"Thank you Uncle Steve." She choked, stretching up to kiss his cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Ali." He hugged her gently. "Now go get ready before Pepper kills us both."

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